On 13-14 September, 2017, we held our inaugural conference in Toronto to set the research agenda on The Economics of AI. The conference was made possible by generous support from the NBER, Creative Destruction Lab and CIFAR. Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb of the University of Toronto organised the conference.

Presentation Videos

Agenda

Introduction - Ajay Agrawal (Toronto & NBER) (Slides, Video)

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation (Slides, Video)
     Iain Cockburn (Boston University & NBER)
     Rebecca Henderson (Harvard & NBER)
     Scott Stern (MIT & NBER)

Discussant: Matthew Mitchell, University of Toronto (Slides)

Artificial Intelligence and the Modern Productivity Paradox: A Clash of Expectations and Statistics (Slides, Video, Media Coverage)
    Erik Brynjolfsson (MIT & NBER)
    Daniel Rock (MIT & NBER)
    Chad Syverson (Chicago & NBER)

Discussant: Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University and NBER (Slides)

Market Design (Slides, Video)
    Paul Milgrom (Stanford)
    Steven Tadelis (University of California at Berkeley & NBER)

Discussant: Matt Taddy, Chicago & Microsoft (Slides)

Impact on Economics (Slides, Video)
    Susan Athey (Stanford & NBER)

Discussant: Mara Lederman, University of Toronto (Slides)

Lunch Presentation by Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures (Video)

Prediction, Judgment and Complexity (Slides, Video)
    Ajay Agrawal (Toronto & NBER)
    Joshua Gans (Toronto & NBER)
    Avi Goldfarb (Toronto & NBER)

Discussant: Andrea Prat, Columbia University (Slides)

Privacy (Slides, Video)
    Catherine Tucker (MIT & NBER)

Discussant: Ginger Zhe Jin, Maryland & NBER (Slides)

Trade (Slides, Video)
    Daniel Trefler (Toronto & NBER)
    Avi Goldfarb (Toronto & NBER)

Discussant: Dave Donaldson, MIT & NBER (Slides)

Panel: Impact on Policy Making (Video)
    Susan Athey (Stanford & NBER)
    Austan Goolsbee (Chicago & NBER)
    Lawrence H. Summers (Harvard & NBER)

Dinner Panel: Pioneers of AI (Video)
    Geoffrey Hinton (University of Toronto & Google)
    Yann LeCun (New York University & Facebook)
    Ruslan Salakhutdinov (Carnegie Mellon University & Apple)

Behavioural Economics (Slides, Video)
Colin Camerer, California Institute of Technology

Discussant: Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University

Income Distribution (Slides, Video)
    Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University & NBER)

Discussant: Susan Dynarski, University of Michigan & NBER (Slides)

Artificial Intelligence and Economic Growth (Slides, Video, Press Report)
    Philippe Aghion (College de France)
    Benjamin Jones (Northwestern & NBER)
    Charles I. Jones (Stanford & NBER)

Discussant: Patrick Francois, University of British Columbia (Slides)

Historical Context and the Long Run (Slides, Video)
    Joel Mokyr (Northwestern)

Discussant: Manuel Trajtenberg, Tel Aviv University & NBER (Slides)

Machine Learning, Market Structure and Competition (Slides, Video)
    Carl Shapiro (University of California at Berkeley & NBER)
    Hal Varian (University of California at Berkeley & Google)

Discussant: Judith A. Chevalier, Yale & NBER (Slides)

Artificial Intelligence, Worker-Replacing Technological Change, and Income Distribution (slides, Video)
    Anton Korinek (Johns Hopkins University & NBER)
    Joseph E. Stiglitz (Columbia University & NBER)

Discussant: Tyler Cowen, George Mason University

Robocalypse Now: Does Productivity Growth Threaten Employment? (Slides, Video)
    David Autor (MIT & NBER)
    Anna Salomons (Utrecht)

Discussant: Betsey Stevenson, University of Michigan & NBER (Slides)